The proposed project will investigate the extent to which commercial restaurants function to integrate or segregate the elderly and other age groups in an urban community. First, the study will measure the age range and proportions of various age groups among patrons of a sample of restaurants; time patterns of use and the extent of temporal segregation of use by various ages; the extent of age-mixing in patronage parties and seating; and the physical and social characteristics of restaurants that influence patronage by various ages. Second, viewing age-integration within the framework of community structure, the study will determine the extent to which age-integration in restaurant use varies with the characteristics of city neighborhoods, in particular, the resources, incentives, and constraints the neighborhood presents to elderly people. Third, the study will document the functions of restaurant use in the lives of elderly people. Data will be obtained in one city, using unobtrusive techniques of structured observation, photographs, and mapping. The research is grounded in the sociological theory of age stratification, and in particular, the proposition that age often operates to segregate people in different ages and to integrate people within a given age group. The study also applies concepts of urban ecology and territorial behavior in order to formulate how the physical and spatial patterns of the city may influence the integration of age groups by affecting the movement and activity patterns of elderly people. It is assumed that physical contact of the elderly with public space and activity is essential to integration. The longterm objective of research in age stratification is to learn what institutions and mechanisms can provide opportunities for age-mixing in community life while affording each age group a degree of privacy from other ages. Such research is critical to any policy or program of community organization aimed at fostering the well-being of the elderly and other age groups.